Film dryer



March 27, 1956 s. M. WEEKS 2,739,338

FILM DRYER Filed Feb. 10, 1953 S Fig. I

INVENTOR. SHERMAN M. WEEKS w BY , 7 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 7FILM DRYER Sherman M. Weeks, Boston, Mass. Application February 10,1953, Serial No. 336,099

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-245) This invention relates to a novel deviceparticularly adapted to wipe photographic films and other like fiexiblesheet materials. The primary object to be accomplished is to remove allexcess water from the film surfaces by a single wiping thereover withoutscratching or damaging the film.

Film wipers in present use are based on the principle of absorbing thewater into spongelike wipers which are moved repeatedly over the film.These wipers not only require repeated Wipings to dry the film, but alsogenerate static electricity that attracts dust to the film surfaces.Absorbent wipers, being porous, also collect chemicals and grit thatsmudge and scratch the film and leave droplets on the film that causeuneven drying with consequent out-of-focus trouble.

My invention contemplates the employment of a plural blade squeegee withopposed blades so relatively offset in alternate arrangement that theblades contact the film surfaces in straight and parallel lines andserve to remove all moisture at a single wiping, thereby performing thewiping operation quickly, eificiently and conveniently and eliminatingthe objections heretofore present. Squeegee Wipers with blades indirectly opposed relation squeeze out of straight alignment and makeuneven contact with the film when pressure is applied, thereby causinguneven and faulty wiping. The production of a new and improved wiper ofthe nature above and hereinafter described comprises the primary objectof the invention.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be morereadily understood and appreciated from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes ofillustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a film dryer embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

My improved film dryer comprises a pair of squeegee members illustratedin the drawing as mounted on the free ends of a wire holder 12 providinga handle for the dryer. Each member 10 comprises a shell 14 open at oneside and having a filler block 16 seated therein. The ends of the handle12 extend into the blocks to support the members on the handle.

Each member 10 supports two squeegee wiper blades 18 each having aforwardly projecting and V-shaped wiping extremity 19 and a relativelyparallel and integral rearwardly projecting portion 20. A serpentineelement or block 22 rests on the block 16 within each shell and issupported therein by clips 24 on the shell in engagement with oppositesides of the element. The serpentine element has open recesses thereinreceiving the portions 20 of the blades and serving to support theblades on the members 10. As illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, thetwo serpentine elements are so reversed in position that they supportthe wiper blades in offset arrangement with the two wiper blades on each2,739,338 Patented Mar. 27, I956 2 member disposed at opposite sides ofa blade on the other member. Each block unit including its two wipingblades and the supporting block 22 is removable from and replaceable inthe shells 10 between the clips 24.

The handle 12 is coiled at its end 26 normally to move the two legs 12of the handle outwardly away from each other and the transverse portions28 are so disposed that the coil 26 normally forces the members intoblade abutting contact with a film 30 disposed therebetween. A ring 32on the portions 28 of the handle serves to maintain the members inalignment. The spring 26 is made to give the desired wiping pressure andthe members can be separated by squeezing the handle.

A film 30 to be dried is placed between the members 10 as illustratedand is drawn upwardly therethrough in the direction of the arrow, Fig.2. The blades thereupon wipe the water from the film, the first opposedblades serving to wipe off the major portion of the water and the secondopposed blades completing the wiping operation. It is particularly notedthat the oppositely disposed blades oppose each other and the wiping tip19 of each blade engages the film along a straight and continuous line.The alternate opposing action of the blades holds the film in a waveypath (Fig. 2) with each blade engaging the film along a straight line atthe bottom apex of a Wave. The blades completely remove the Water anddry the film at a single Wiping. Thus the film is dried faster, cleaner,with less static electric charges, and without the collecting of grit orchemicals that would damage the film.

I am aware that wipers employing two directly opposed wiping blades havebeen suggested. When used on a flexible sheet such blades slip past eachother and result in misalignment along the wiping line. Droplets arethereupon left on the film, which is also true of absorbent wipers, andcreate an uneven drying on the negative causing it to warp and produce aprint partly out of focus. The complete dry wiping resulting from use ofmy dryer totally eliminates this objection. It will be apparent fromFig. 2 that the amount of pressure exerted on the film is ofconsiderable importance and it is pointed out that my wiper is providedwith a factory pre-set spring action that will exert the proper wipingblade pressure on the film surfaces for the useful life of the wiper.One passage of the film through my dryer removes all the excess water sothat the film can then be thoroughly dried without leaving any watermarks or causing any buckling of the film and eliminates the objectspresent in dryers heretofore known.

Having thus disclosed my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is: p

A film dryer comprising a frame embodying a length of resilient materialhaving its intermediate portion formed into an outwardly expanding loopwith the two ends thereof extending from the loop in spaced andsubstantially parallel handle forming reaches and from thence each reachextending transversely toward and approximately to the other reach andthen outwardly therefrom away from the loop to provide two spaced endportions disposed outwardly beyond the transversely extending portionsof said reaches, and two parallel squeegee members respectively mountedon said end portions outwardly beyond said reaches and embodying aplurality of Wiper blades in opposed relation, the wiper blades on thetwo members being in parallel relation and relatively offset with twowiper blades on one member disposed at opposite sides of a blade on theother member, said intermediate loop portion being pre-set tov expandwith predetermined force and move said blades together in predeterminedpressure contact with a film placed therebetween, squeezing the saidhandle reaches being 1,141,593 adapted to separate the squeegee membersand blades. 2,223,147

2,623,225 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 5 1,184,152 Webb May 23, 1916 272,651

1. 4 Lavietes Ian.'9, 1923 Case Nov. 26, 1940 Frankel Dec. 30, 1952FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain June 23, 1927

